The world has limited resources but the world's population, now over 5 billion, continues to increase. A habit of inefficient utilization of resources, and the practice of environmental pollution, must both be overcome while also overcoming increasingly critical food shortages. A new era of organic/sustainable agriculture is needed wherein air, land, and water are protected from the chemical and other pollution of the recent past while crop yields are increased With fewer resources and less cost.
A 5,000 year old Chinese polyculture method of crop production employed organic/sustainable agricultural methods. Ducks, grown for meat and eggs, were grown on rice paddies feeding on a portion of rice plants. The duck feces provided fertilizer for rice and nutrients for microalgae. A fish crop such as Tilapea was produced on the algae in the paddies, and any mature algae that died, plus fish feces, also provided fertilizer for the rice crop. Yields of each of these plant and animal crops benefited because of a symbiotic-type relationship that increased the yields of each. Pest control was accomplished by natural and organic means so that no pollution of the environment occurred. As an example, extracts from Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree seeds were used as a natural pesticide that controlled 131 species of harmful insects.
To help fully understand this invention, the background on several related agricultural systems is reviewed below.
1) Agronomy is the science of growing land crops in soils, and it involves selective breeding of plants and the management of soils to increase crop production. Todays soil management problems include wind and water erosion, maintenance of soil fertility, and several types of chemical pollution, and other problems. The latter includes acid rain, improper waste disposal, chemical pesticide build-up, water pollution, the "greenhouse effect," desertification, deforestation, urbanization and many factors now reducing land crop yields.
2) Hydroponics is the science of growing land crops without soil. Plants are typically suspended with their roots in water or in watered coarse sand or gravel. Chemical nutrients are added to the water to replace those nutrients normally provided by the soil and/or fertilizers. Artificial light and heat may be used for plants grown indoors by hydroponic means. Usual nutrients added to each 1,000 gallons of water are 2.6 kilograms of potassium nitrate, 0.5 kilograms of ammonium sulfate, 2 kilograms of magnesium sulfate, 1.1 kilograms of monocalcium sulfate, and 2.3 kilograms of calcium sulfate. One gallon (3.8 liters) of water containing 28 grams of manganous sulfate and 3 to 5 drops of sulfuric acid is usually added to the above 1,000 gallon mixture once a month. In addition, 113 grams of ferrous sulfate in 1 gallon of water is usually added once a week to the above 1,000 gallon mix. In brief, it takes a person skilled in the knowledge of plant nutrients, and one who is also skilled in the study of plant foliage nutrient deficiency symptoms, to manage a successful hydroponic operation.
3) Animal husbandry is the science of producing livestock such as cattle, hogs, horses, poultry, and sheep for the products they furnish or the services they provide. Practices of this science include the selected breeding and feeding of livestock, providing necessary shelter, and the prevention and/or control of animal diseases. Meat products from these land animals are not as popular as they once were. Fats from animal meats are highly saturated and have a tendency to store toxic materials from polluted feed and water. In addition, the current use of growth hormones and antibiotics, for such meat production, are generally thought to be harmful to humans. Since it usually takes several pounds of feed to produce a pound of meat, livestock production for meat is not the most efficient means of providing food for food deficient areas of the world. Multi-purpose uses of some livestock helps to overcome this latter problem.
4) Aquaculture is the commercial raising of animals and plants that live in water. In the United States, most aquaculturists raise catfish, oysters, salmon, or trout. Microalgae (algae) is a plant species grown for food, feed, vitamins, pigments, chemicals, algin paint additives, and alginates to thicken ice creams and face creams. Removal of animal feces from aquaculture pond water typically requires substantial and daily inputs of clean water that increases the cost of operation. Cold weather generally reduces production on open ponds that are frequently subject to contamination problems from dust, dirt, organic materials, insects, spiders, bird droppings, reptiles, acid rain, bacteria, and foreign algae. Greenhouse-type covers have had limited use in helping to warm ponds in winter, or to reduce contamination problems. These clear plastic canopies have required an expensive support structure for efficient operation, and the cost of such support often makes the product too expensive for the market. Mostly due to the above limitations, the aquaculture industry only produces about 6 percent of the world's annual fish catch. Overall fish supplies are believed to be declining because of the pollution of our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
5) Organic Gardening is the cultivation of plants, such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and trees using natural or organic materials for fertilizer and pest control. This practice, which is closely related to the art and science of horticulture, was started over 40 years ago by Sir Albert Howard a British agricultural scientist. The organic movement today is gaining many supporters with the increasing scientific evidence that man could slowly be killing himself with chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is actively promoting policies in support of organic/sustainable gardening and agriculture. Lawmakers and other state officials in Texas and Minnesota are developing policies to help assure the successful growth of organic agriculture. The chemically based agriculture of recent years is slowly being forced aside to help protect our environment.
6) Organic Water Treatment is the art and science of making polluted water clean or potable. For hundreds of years, ground seeds from the Moringa (Moringa oleifera) tree, applied in doses of 30 to 200 mg/liter, have been used to purify water from the Nile River in Africa. The town of Hollister, California uses microalgae ponds to facilitate removal of nutrients, heavy metals, and toxic organic materials from sewage and organic wastes. In addition, the algae generate oxygen to enhance the waste oxidation process. The New Alchemy Institute of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, founded by John Todd, has pioneered the development of an artificial marsh for organic water treatment. Wastewater is moved slowly through a hydroponic-type maize planted with bamboo, cattails, bulrushes, swamp iris/marigold, willows, and similar plants having a collective ability to take up nutrients, heavy metals, and toxic organic materials. Snails are grown in the marsh to help remove sludge. Algae may also be used as part of the system to aid water treatment as previously described. Clean and/or potable water may thus be produced by totally organic means, a means that is believed to be more economical and more protective of the environment.